I just returned from the Annapolis boat show and discovered that some engine manufacturers still don"t know how to mount spin on oil filters. I hated my last Yanmar that had the filters mounted horizontally. On their new engine they"re mounted upside down and so is Volvo"s. Not only does this make clean oil changes almost impossible it makes me wonder if the filters drain down when the engine is not running. What makes this more puzzling is that Volvo and Yanmar plumb external oil lines to the filter fitting making it simply to mount the filter the way I think it should be. Am I missing something or shouldn"t I expect the filter to be hung from the fitting making clean oil changes easy and the potential for the filter not holding oil when the engine isn"t running nearly impossible. The Yanmar rep said it was mounted that way to fit a specific overall engine dimensional requirement. That seemed inaccurate as the filter fitting could have been moved in the same space. Just puzzled, Gil _____________________________________________________________________________ _______ Don't let your dream ride pass you by. Make it a reality with Yahoo! Autos. http://autos.yahoo.com/index.html

I thought that was crazy too, until I learned to just poke a hole or two in the top when you start your oil change. Venting the filter like this will allow all the oil to drain back into the engine, and you can remove it without a drop spilling. You don't need bags, pads, etc. Maybe one paper towel. You'll be surprised how much easier this is than removing one that is full of oil, mounted "right side up". Keith _____ If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gil Johnson" <dogtrawler@yahoo.com> > > Am I missing something or > shouldn"t I expect the filter to be hung from the fitting making clean oil > changes easy and the potential for the filter not holding oil when the > engine > isn"t running nearly impossible. The Yanmar rep said it was mounted that > way > to fit a specific overall engine dimensional requirement. That seemed > inaccurate as the filter fitting could have been moved in the same space.